A Spellbound Soul
by Hetaliancupcake
Summary: Arthur might as well have been a ghost thanks to that spell backfiring. Now his roommate, and the object of his affections, would be left alone unaware of what had become of him. Surely the spell could be reversed, surely Arthur would be physical again. With events unfolding all around him, he may even be led to problems bigger than his own. (Human Au)
1. Chapter 1

_**{A Spellbound Soul}**_

Arthur watched as Francis let out a loud sigh. Francis sat in a chair all by his lonesome, clutching a picture of the two of them from college. Arthur reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but instantly retracted it, remembering it would be of no use. It only gave Francis cold chills, and magnified his sadness. Arthur noticed Francis pour more whiskey into his cup, the liquid forcing the ice to clank against the glass. Arthur wanted to scream. Tell him that he was sorry for causing him so much pain. Arthur knew though, that this would be futile. He had tried before, but his words never reached him. This all was caused by his magic, something only him and his friend from middle school Lukas knew, as Lukas had some too. A spell had gone wonky and now... he might as well have been a ghost.

It was strange to see Francis so upset. Arthur was still adjusting to the fact that he saw so much more of Francis now that Francis couldn't see him.

"Oh, Arthur. Where did you go? Alfred and Matthieu think you are dead, or maybe you ran away. Lukas won't say much, but he says he's sure you won't be back for a little while. I'm so worried, and I'm angry and sad and... I miss you." He watched as Francis buried his face into one hand and took shaky breaths. "I never got the chance..." He murmured. Arthur and Francis had been friends since high school; not to mention, Arthur may have had a major attraction to his flirty french friend, but he would never have those feelings returned.

Arthur had never meant for this to happen. Him and Lukas should've learned more before messing around with their magics and the old spellbook that his mother had left for him. He hadn't even researched if the spell he cast was reversible. Arthur couldn't even get to his spellbook, as it was locked in his basement and he couldn't go through shut doors. Plus, no one could open it because Arthur had somehow managed to get it protected with some sort of magic charm. Now it was working against him.

Arthur stepped away from Francis, unable to watch him nearly sobbing and upset, guilt threatening to consume him. Arthur touched the door to the basement and pulled his hand back, beginning to blow on his hand. Not even he could touch it, leaving him utterly clueless. He had to try something. Maybe Francis could try? Ah, who knows. Although Lukas had promised to stay behind in town a bit longer to help fix the situation, Arthur remained anything but calm. He moseyed on over to a bookshelf and thought a moment. He couldn't have his spoken words reach Francis, but perhaps he could show him some sort of sign. He hadn't experimented much with this ethereal form, considering all he had learned was he could only travel through open doors.

Arthur glanced through the bookshelf, foraging for a specific book. His eyes settled upon a leather bound journal, and sighed. Perhaps this was the best way, even though it was a tad embarassing. He reached out at the shelf and his hand solidly touched the journal. He began to pull it out and the journal came out with his hand, almost as if he had a solid form again. He held the journal out in front of him and stood before Francis. He didn't look disturbed. Arthur could only guess the book didn't appear to be floating, so he must have it cloaked as he holds it. Arthur opened to a page that held a journal entry relevant to Francis, probably around the time they got this apartment together, and glanced over it.

Arthur's attention was taken from Francis by the mew of his cat familiar. Cleo strutted into the room and stretched before leaving a note and a dead mouse by the basement door. Arthur sighed. The cat was sweet and him leaving the dead animal was a sign of affection In itself, but it was bloody disgusting. He scanned over the note to find its purpose:

 _Arthur,_

 _I believe I've found the cause of your problem. Find a way to meet me at Vlad's house at 4:00. We need to meet._

 _~Lukas_

Arthur glanced over to Francis and gripped the journal tighter.

'I guess I should write a note to him. Get him to open the door and tell him some things. Well, it can't hurt to try.' Arthur thought. He grabbed a pen and wrote a tiny note, expressing how sorry he was that Francis was worrying, and that he was alright. That he could be angry if he wanted but he didn't mean to leave. He told him to open the door a moment and he'd show him a sign. Then he dropped the journal with the note onto the floor and backed away. Francis let out a shriek.

Francis stood from the chair and found the book lying at his feet. His eyebrows raised in piqued curiousity, as he leaned down to pick it up. He held it and his eyes skimmed over the page, reading intently, his expression hard to read. When he finally looked up from the paper Francis wandered over to the door and opened it, leaving it open a moment. Arthur knew if he left he might not come back for a while, but he'd never fully come back if he didn't go. He stepped out the door brushing Francis' shoulder, causing him to shudder, and dropped a picture he had of Francis and him on the floor. Francis smiled, and Arthur was ready to set off. But he still didn't understand why Lukas could possibly want to meet at Vlad's house. Did he know something? Would he be the key to getting out of this whole mess? Arthur hoped that surely Vlad hadn't been holding out on him.


	2. Chapter 2

**{A Spellbound Soul: Chapter 2}**

Arthur approached the small, familiarly creepy home he had many times before. He found Lukas frantically pounding on the door.

"Lukas? What's going on, is everything alright?" Arthur said, his voice soft, and hoarse as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. He hadn't actually. Lukas turned and his harsh expression softened a little. The look he gave appeared frantic at first but now all Arthur saw in it was anger. Why the hell was he so mad?

"Arthur, we have to get inside. Vlad won't let me in and I have a feeling he might be the one to blame for this."

"How do you know that? Vlad is our best friend, he wouldn't do something to sabotage my spell..." Arthur said. Truthfully, he had thought about it many times, and it seemed like he did everything right. It had crossed Arthur's mind that some of the things Vlad had given him were what caused the failure, but surely if that was the case he wouldn't have done it on purpose.

"Arthur, as much as I don't want to believe it either, that charm was cursed. The way it dissolved in the cauldron Is how the spellbook describes cursed items when they're used in brewing during rituals! Vlad has some explaining to do. It's not helping his case that he won't open the damn door." Lukas muttered. Arthur sighed. It was slightly suspicious. "Come on, let's see if his back door is unlocked." Lukas suggested, motioning towards the side of the house. Arthur followed behind as they walked to the back door, and since he had zoned out for a moment, was startled when Lukas let out a little gasp. The door was wide open, immediately alerting them that something was wrong. Lukas, without thinking much of consequence, marched in and called Vlad's name.

"Vlad! Vlad?!" Lukas shouted, finding Vlad sprawled out on the floor, someone's hands around his neck. When the person turned to find Lukas there they clutched tighter, as if attempting to break his neck. Whoever they were they could see Arthur. Lukas pounced at them, knocking them to the ground, captive in his grasp for a mere moment. In a flash the masked intruder raised a hand and uttered some phrase, Lukas flew away from them landing against the wall. Then they turned to Arthur, their dark purple eyes glaring daggers at him. They raised their arm again, but whatever they uttered seemed not to work. When that fizzled, they threw a punch, which they found even more useless, as it went right through Arthur.

"What the hell!? I did not sign up for this." A deep girl's voice came from the person. She glanced back and forth between Arthur, and the other two, and gave a knowing sigh. Arthur really couldn't do much to stop her, but apparently she thought he was something to be afraid of. She took off out the back door, and Arthur let her go, rushing instead to Lukas' side.

"Lukas? Lukas are you all right? Bloody hell, she was powerful." Arthur asked in concern, examining for wounds. Nothing serious came up in his search. Lukas groaned and opened his eyes. When he tried to stand, he almost fell over. Arthur wandered over to Vlad.

"Lukas, do you remember that awakening spell? We need to wake him up and figure out what just happened." Arthur questioned. Lukas nodded and pulled out a small book, and held it open in one hand. He raised his other hand and uttered a spell.

"Excitare!" Lukas shouted." He should be awake in a little bit. I'm going to go shut and lock the back door just in case." Arthur stood and waited, and his ears tickled with the sound of his friend's groans. He was awake. Arthur glanced down to Vlad as he shifted himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his neck gingerly, as if it was made of porcelain. He blinked his eyes open, and they widened as his gaze fell upon Arthur. He jumped up with a squeak and attempted to run (which utterly confused Arthur) to his room, however he tripped on a pulled up piece of his carpet flooring. Lukas had made perfect timing and pulled him up by the sleeve of his red suit.

"Aghk, Lukas!? Umm... what are you guys doing here?" Vlad gave a nervous laugh, one that almost made Arthur tremble, growing more upset as minutes passed. Lukas eyed Vlad with a suspicious glare and threw him into his recliner.

"You're going to tell us what the hell just happened! Who was that? Why the hell were they here?!" Vlad winced at Lukas' raised voice. He normally was so quiet, so that was to be expected really. Arthur placed a hand on Lukas' shoulder that made him even shudder. Surprisingly enough, he calmed down and his eyes lost their accusing intention. Vlad searched their faces for something, and not finding it turned to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Arthur. I never meant for this to happen, but they... they have my mom!" Arthur raised his eyebrows in confusion and tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean Vlad, who has your mom?" Arthur asked. Vlad sniffed before wiping at his face.

"There is this group of people like us. They have magic too! Mom said... mom said that they have been at war with your family for years. I'm surprised your parents never told you Arthur. When we all first experienced magic a couple months ago, they showed up at my doorstep. They're called the draconis ură." Vlad remained quiet a moment, as if it hurt to tell us what he was going to say next." I refused to join and so they traced my lineage and told me my clan was worthless anyway. That I and my mother would be butchered like the swine that we were. They warned me that our three clans were worthless and yours Arthur was the worst. They knew I was your friend."

"Vlad no... don't tell me you-?" Lukas began, but was interrupted by a hysterical Vlad.

"I'm so sorry a-arthur. They told me they'd kill her if I didn't give you a cursed charm! B-but I swear to you that I'll help you fix it!" Vlad broke down crying, his head buried in his hands. Arthur supposed he should be angry, quite like Lukas looked, but he felt nothing but guilt.

"It's alright, Vlad. I understand why you did it. I just wish you would have come to us first, at least let us try to figure it out together. Now we have to work together to fix this. If you know anything about how to reverse this, that'd be great. Then we can find the bloody bastard's who have taken your mom and get her back." Vlad sniffled, and slowly raised his head. He looked into Arthur's eyes and then pounced at him, clutching him tight into a hug.

"You're right, Arthur! I'm sorry, you're such a good friend, I wouldn't have forgiven me! I don't think I've even quite forgiven myself..." Vlad said into the air. Arthur really hated not being a physical being.

A sudden ringing broke the moment as Lukas pulled out his phone.

"Yeah?" Although Arthur couldn't hear what was going on in the persons calling environment, it was loud and screams and bangs eminated through the phone.

"Mat? Emil? Hello? Guys, are you alright?" After another minute of crashes and bangs, an out of breath Mathias apparently answered.

"Mat?! Are you okay?... Some people with beams shooting from their hands? Emil is... he's gone! They took him? Okay I'm coming, and I'm bringing Vlad, he might be able to help." Lukas hung up and Arthur immediately knew what had happened was serious. Tears filled Lukas' eyes as he swallowed hard, and turned to the door. "Can you guys come with me? These bastards... they have my brother too." Arthur and Vlad nodded, and off they went. Arthur had a hard time trying to wrap his head around the rapidly intensifying situation and how much of his life had been hidden from him. This was going to be a long day.

A/n: I hope you guys are enjoying this, I know it isn't far in yet, but I'm going to really try to make it good. Like. Good as in you can see a mystery needing to be solved and can follow along as Arthur tries to solve it and adventure, friendship and stuff. Feel free to review, those are appreciated. :3 Remember to follow me if you want regular updates on this and any other story I'm writing, and I'll see you later. ~ Hetaliancupcake


	3. Chapter 3

**{A Spellbound Soul: Chapter 3}**

Arthur followed his friends into Lukas' apartment while he stayed in the city. He had taken his friend Mathias and his brother along, and Arthur could imagine that Lukas was regretting that decision. Mathias stood from the couch and shuffled over to Lukas as fast as he could, with his limp. Lukas let out an almost sob as he took him in his arms, muffled in Mathias' jacket.

"Lukas... they were brutal! They pushed over everything and when we got home from the store, they ambushed us! They... someone sprained my leg pretty badly, and we fought. I tried. I swear I tried, but they broke things and pulled a white cloth on me, and I could only watch as they pulled him away! Damn it all, I'm so useless-!"

"Mathias, shut it! You did all you could... let me see your leg. This is getting out of hand." Lukas said, angry and bitter, leading Mathias to the couch. Arthur caught the moist shine to his cheeks as they followed behind. Lukas quickly lifted up his pants leg and placed his hand against his calf. Mathias let out a small whimper and grabbed at Lukas' wrist. They locked eyes a moment and Lukas gingerly spoke to calm him. Arthur wished him and Francis could have a relationship like this.

"It's alright. I'm sorry... Mathias? I- Im going to show you something. It is something that's new to me, and it can't be abused. Don't freak out please." Mathias didn't question it and gave a small, sad nod. "Curare!" He uttered. Lukas raised his hand and a green light extended forth from his fingertips, gleaming green particles dancing and twisting around Mathias' leg. He seemed a bit surprised at first, but the pain seemed to ease as he slowly slid his hands off his calf, and his muscles visibly relaxed. Arthur couldn't imagine what hell of a struggle Mathias had went through, especially considering the fact he held no magical lineage or potential. Poor Emil too.

"Wow... Lukas that was... extraordinary! Are you like some sort of wizard or something?" Lukas' cheeks tinged a slight pink as he fiddled with his fingers.

"Yeah, I guess. It's nothing special. I'm a total newbie, and I can only do a couple of spells correctly." Mathias examined Lukas in awe, and once again Arthur felt envious of their special connection. Vlad coughed interrupting the chemistry reaction taking place.

"We need to figure some things out. They surely know that I've betrayed them now, and since they have your brother as a bargaining chip as well, I'd assume they want us alive. At least for the moment. We need to establish what they want from us, I guess." Vlad stated, matter-of-factly. Arthur and Lukas nodded.

"You're right. Where to start looking though?" Lukas asked, inquisitvely. Arthur thought a moment and a light bulb went off above his head.

"Vlad? You mentioned this superior group has history with my family right? Maybe we can find out some things from my family book back at my apartment. Well, Francis' apartment..." Arthur concluded. Lukas' eyes lit up at the idea.

"Yeah! Let's go check Arthur's first. We should probably get a little practice in too. You do know how to get the protection off of his basement don't you, Vlad?" Lukas asked. Vlad nodded, simple and quick. Arthur watched as Mathias stood up way too fast and energetically invited himself along.

"I'm coming too!" Lukas looked as though he wanted to throttle him.

"No. Oh, hell no. You are not getting in the way or getting yourself in danger. You'll be damn lucky if I don't erase your memory temporarily so you can't remember the last thirty minutes!" Lukas shouted. Mathias smirked and gave a slight chuckle.

"Lukas, I couldn't protect your brother, if you get hurt too, what am I going to do! Besides, safety in numbers. I'm sure you could use more help. Maybe have a set of eyes that aren't magical. Do you really want me to stay here, and risk me getting kidnapped or worse?" The sad part was he was right. Lukas let out a sigh and gave a reluctant agreement.

"But don't fucking push me or I swear to sorcery, I'll-" Vlad laid a hand on each of their shoulders and pushed them towards the door, Arthur trailing behind like some awkward kid left out of a group.

"Come on, lovebirds! We have to go now! Loved ones are at stake here." Leave it to a half-vampire with magic to make sense... and interrupt a moment that may never be shared again.


	4. Chapter 4

**{A Spellbound Soul: Chapter 4}**

*Tap,Tap,Tap*

Lukas' hand pounded on the door, and a slight shuffle was heard inside. Eventually the door opened, giving way to the beautiful french man's face. His blue eyes that normally had a certain lustre to them, now looked dull and disinterested. It was the only indication of how he was actually feeling that he showed, before hiding it away with a small smile.

"Lukas! Vlad? Mathias too? Oh, well, come in come in. You must be here for that weird, leather bound book, yes? That's what you said on the phone... Have you found anything out about Arthur?" I felt a twang go through my heart. Maybe the sign hadn't been enough. Arthur had given a pretty vague note though... He followed closely behind Mathias, being he was the last person in, and barely managed to get in before the door shut. Francis sat down at his recliner and pointed to the bookshelf and then the couch across from him with that bright smile Arthur missed. Mathias readily sat across from him and gave a warm, goofy smile back. I perused the bookshelf myself as they began to chat. Lukas and Vlad glanced around it beside me, but I of course having seen it many times before, found it first.

"Here the little devil is." Arthur said, fingering it's spine. Lukas stepped up to it and pulled it off the shelf, and placing himself beside Mathias on the couch.

"Ah, I see you found what you were looking for? Magnifique! What do you need it for?" Arthur wondered what was going through Lukas' head, as his thinking made him hesitate. He looked back to me and then turned right back around.

"Should I divulge, _everything_?" He asked aloud. Francis cocked his head to the side and nodded.

"That would be good, yes." Francis replied, smile faltering.

'He may not let us look at my book until he knows something more. I didn't want to tell him much for many reasons. These people could put him in danger. Or he could become angrier with me... maybe he'd be disgusted or afraid of me even. I didn't want that. But, he did control my book. And... maybe he did deserve to know...' Arthur thought. After minutes of internal deliberation, Arthur gave a hesitant yes to Lukas.

"Well... Francis, Arthur isn't dead or anything really. He has this magic inside him like me and Vlad do... he accidentally, with Vlad's unnecessary help, casted it wrong. He ended up in this, well- this ghost-like state. Where he isn't dead! B-but his body has lost some of its physicality." Francis gave a neutral look and nodded his head slowly.

"The burnt-scones bastard left me a note. So I guess it makes sense that he isn't dead, but... he has magic? That's hard to believe. You have got to be kidding me! You're mocking me aren't you! I'm not that gullible..." Francis glanced around warily.

"No, Francis it's not like that, we know it's hard to believe but it's true! He told us that to fix this we should research some things. So this book is super important to helping reverse this. Thanks Francis." Mathias eyebrows raised and he opened his mouth to say something, but he barely got a word out.

"But-" Lukas grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the place, Vlad and Arthur shortly behind, and Arthur watched Francis' face turn more forlorn every second they walked away, the previous anger retreating with every step.

"Au revoir..." Francis murmered. Arthur sighed and murmered back a small au revoir. Francis looked directly up at him and his eyes were glossy and a small smile played upon his lips, as If he had heard him or something. Arthur was still confused by it as they left, wondering to himself.

'Had he heard me? Does that mean he has magic? No... that's ridiculous. He couldn't have heard you, he was probably saddened even more by that exchange instead. God, Francis...' He thought, sitting on the steps to his apartment building. He discarded the thoughts and pulled the book onto his lap, examining it's spine and cover thoroughly. Before now he had only looked at it once. It was sent to Arthur in the mail and it was addressed from his parents. It was strange because they hadn't sent him anything in a long time. He thought about flipping through it the next day, but he got a letter formally stating that his parents had passed. He didn't touch it after that. He didn't want to know what his parents had urgently sent him before their death, afraid it would taint his memory of them, or that he might find a dangerous secret within. He handed the book to Lukas, and Lukas gave him a small pat on the back before reading the spine himself.

"Are you going to open it?" Mathias asked, coming back from the restroom just as Lukas looked about to ask Arthur something. Lukas gave him a punch on the shoulder and a harsh glare that softened as Mathias shrunk in his place. Arthur watched Lukas mutter an apology, and turn and give him as affectionate a look he had ever seen grace his face.

"Ready?" Lukas murmered. "This group moves fast." Arthur knew Lukas was right. He gave a small nod allowing Lukas to continue. Lukas gripped the cover between his fingers and flipped it open. The first page held a beautiful illustration of eight normal humans. Each one holding some sort of wand, staff, orb, or having a colorful aura around them. Below it was a small sentence.

"Pars Magicam?" Vlad struggled with reading what appeared to be...Latin? "I wish Artie was here, he can translate this stuff most of the time." Arthur couldn't translate Latin.

"It's a tome of magic. That's literally what it says. And the line below it talks about the definition of magic and who has the right to this tome." Arthur, Vlad and Mathias all looked at Lukas. His cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his head. " I started to learn Latin because some of the spells in my book weren't translated to English."

"Wow, Lukas... this explains why you went to the library and came home with all those tapes and dictionaries! And what you do down in the basement, back in Norway." Lukas sat closer to Arthur on the steps, making room for Vlad to sit next to them, and cleared his throat.

"I'll try to translate as much as I can, but I don't know everything yet." Arthur nodded to Lukas' proposal and Lukas flipped the page. It was blank, which Arthur found strange, but the others just decided to flip past the page.

"So this title says 'history of magic users' and I think it goes on for the first 200 pages just in this section. That was the main purpose of this journal I believe. This, huge... journal.

"I wish there was just a summary to read on the book..." Vlad muttered. Lukas sighed.

"That would be helpful wouldn't it? We can't sit through all these pages, we don't have the time!" Lukas breathed, exasperated.

"Why don't you just skip to the end of the history?" Mathias asked. They all turned to him this time and Lukas let out a laugh.

"That is the most stupid- stupidly genius thing I've ever heard!" He flipped frantically though many pages landing himself on the last page of the section. A piece of paper fell out of the tome, onto the steps before them. Vlad picked it up and unfolded it, holding it in front of them all. "It's a hand written in english."

 _Dear Arthur,_

 _This tome is now in your hands. Don't ever trust the Draconis Ură. They have come for us, and won't stop until they get the tome. Don't trust the ... either. They are easily corrupted by the ... family_ _branch. Wealth and power has gone to the heads of those in .._ _. You must be careful. We love you ...check the back of the tome, and protect... you must protect him, he is the key, you must-_

All of them had read over it, unable to decipher the smudges, but every other personal word shown to them. Arthur stood and paced a few steps, breathed out a sigh as he attempted to blink the streaking ink down the page from his mind. He turned back to give the words another look, when an ear-splitting crash echoed and cut through the air.


	5. Chapter 5

**{A Spellbound Soul: Chapter 5}**

"What the hell was that!?" Mathias screamed as they all turned towards the loud sound. Arthur had ran straight away, following Lukas as he ran right back inside the apartment complex. Arthur almost fell to the floor in despair at the sight of his apartment. The door was wide open, all the books knocked off the shelves, deep marks in the walls, and even the window wide open, and the glass of it shattered. Most importantly, Francis was gone.

"Shit! No, no, no! Oh, God, whats next!? What's bloody fucking next!" Arthur shouted. With shaky hands he picked up the wine glass he had been drinking out of, and sat it back on the table, in the two pieces they broke it into. "I'm going to kill whoever did this, rip them to shreds!"

"Damn! Arthur, calm down, okay... It was probably the Draconis Ură. We'll make sure they get their just desserts. Sitting around and screaming won't do anything." Lukas comforted. Arthur stood and took a deep breath. Mathias and Vlad had finally caught up, exclaiming about the condition of the apartment. "They couldn't break the seal on Arthur's basement... That's good. They probably came for his magic tomes, and such. We should probably do some more research on this branch of the magic users. My mom might know a lot, and I'm sure you have books on it at your place Vlad. They won't come after us if we stay together." Arthur gave a small nod and wiped at his face feeling no wet spots where tears should be. "Vlad, can you take the seal off? Arthur should have magical spell components and all his spell books down there."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Vlad muttered and then proceeded to wave a magical charm at the door, muttering magical incantations. Suddenly a click was heard. "Okay i broke the seal, and... Possibly the lock, sorry."

"Whatever, you opened it. Good enough." Lukas sighed. After gathering up some books, and some ingredients for spells they headed back upstairs.

"Let's hit up my house first, okay guys? That way we don't get ambushed again, we just run in, I get my stuff, we leave. Then we can head back to your place and you can give your mom a call, Lukas." Lukas nodded, and they all filed out calmly, except Arthur. Arthur was so full of emotions he couldn't make anymore sounds. Instead he silently made his way to Francis' room and grabbed the picture of him and Arthur from college. He took it out if it's frame and put it gently into his pocket. He swore to himself that he'd find him, and never again would he let anyone hurt someone else because of him. Even if Francis hated him for this, he'd never let anyone hurt him again.

"You coming, Arthur?" Lukas asked, peeping his head in the doorway. Arthur just brushed past him without an answer, and went to follow the others.

...

After hours of scouring the multitude of books containing ancient family lore, and a call to Lukas's mom, they had all reached one conclusion.

"I have no idea what's going on!" Vlad said, exasperated. Lukas ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"We should go to the upcoming convention, and bring this note to the council's attention." Arthur and Mathias agreed, meanwhile Vlad just sat there in despair, and exhaustion.

"Where did your mom say it was being held next?"

"Las Vegas. So not too far from here. It's next week on Thursday, and we'll need to be prepared for a trippy trial. That's what mom said anyway." Lukas stated. "For now we need to do some more research in the magic community. But that can wait until tomorrow. Everyone get some sleep. Vlad you can sleep on the couch, there is also a spare room..." Lukas motioned, looking at Arthur. "I'll watch the door and put a shield over the house for good measure. Then I'll wake someone else up for guard duty. Off with you all." Lukas retreated to his room to grab his spell book, and came back to guard the door. Vlad immediately went to pass out on the couch, and Mathias in his room. Arthur stood awkwardly in the kitchen. He hadn't really been able to sleep, since he had become like this. He still felt as though he should, but he knew it wouldn't happen so he just approached Lukas, and signed himself up for all-night guard duty.

"I can't really sleep anyway. You on the other hand need it. Go on, your shield will buy us time, if anything even does happen." Arthur plead. Lukas only raised one eyebrow and let his sleepy feeling allow him to agree to slumber. Arthur stayed awake all night, listening to the soft sounds of Vlad's light snoring and stuck inside his own head, enveloped by his thoughts. Were his parents dead? Why was he suddenly pulled into all this magic mumbo-jumbo? Would he have to face this problem like this, or would they find a different resolution? But most of all he wondered about the blank pages in that ultimate magic tome. And Francis; of course Francis was on his mind.

A\n: Okay, so sorry it took so long, and sorry there isn't much here, but hopefully the next couple of chapters will end up longer and more full of action. Thanks for reading the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoyed. If you are new to my writings, remember to follow me for other fics or this one specifically, and leave a review to let me know what you thought! I'll see you in the next thing I write! ~Hetaliancupcake


	6. Chapter 6

**{A Spellbound Soul: Chapter 6}**

After standing guard the entire night, Arthur felt no more tired than he had when he started. That didn't mean he wasnt bored. He found himself thinking too much, and eventually had to force himself to stop. The time came for him to wake Vlad up to start the chain reaction of everyone waking up. He shuffled over to Vlad and shook his arm a little, calling his name. Vlad's eyes eventually fluttered open after some poking and prodding. He rubbed at his eyes and slid his feet to the side of the couch, letting out a yawn.

"Did you not sleep at all last night, Arthur?" Vlad asked, wandering into the kitchen to start some coffee. "I thought he was supposed to come relieve you from guard duty?" Arthur sighed, and stepped into the hallway.

"He said he would, but I guess he was more tired than he thought. I don't mind though. I can't really sleep anymore anyways. Might as well be useful." Vlad let out a gasp. "What?" Arthur questioned, startled.

"I forgot! I said I knew how to turn you back, whoops. Well, before we start packing lets go to the basement to fix this." Vlad said, chipper as ever. Arthur guessed the good night's sleep gave him renewed energy. Or perhaps hope.

"I should go wake up Lukas first, that way some of us can get packing. At least it'll give you time to drink that coffee you're so bloody fond of... and make me some tea." Arthur stated, meandering his way to Lukas's room. He knocked gently, and upon hearing nothing proceeded to enter. "Lukas?" Arthur murmured, approaching Lukas' bed. He glanced around Lukas' room, finding it to be immaculate, and yet it gave off this eerie atmosphere. The light blue walls and purple carpet honestly gave him this strange feeling. He shook Lukas's shoulder and waited as the groggy man turned to him, eyes still closed and said, "Mat, go away..." Arthur thought It was a bit rude and felt insulted for Mathias. "It's Arthur. Get the hell up, and start packing." He wasn't really sure why he started getting sassy at that moment, but he was. He left the room with that, and marched back to the kitchen. He grabbed his family book and his favorite spellbook, placing them back in the satchel he had taken them out of.

"Man, it is so creepy seeing floating around books and stuff. It scares me every time. " Vlad commented as he sipped at his coffee. "Your tea is gonna be a while. Wanna get this over with?"

"I hope you know what you're doing." Arthur sighed, nodding.

...

"Las Vegas Convention Center.. ah! There it is! I told you we were going the wrong way..." Lukas mumbled at Mathias.

Arthur let out a sigh and glanced around the scene. Maybe it was stupid, but he expected everyone there to be... magical looking? Was that a thing? Instead, everyone looked normal. Although the spell to reverse his faux pas hadn't worked, he felt better somehow. They were making process and if this was truly bigger than the four of them, they'd be able to find help here among those like them.

"Is it even okay to bring someone like Mathias here? He isn't one of us." Vlad asked Lukas, who turned away from Mathias to him and crossed his arms.

"I know, Vlad... but what else am I supposed to do? I can't leave him anywhere, so this is the best option for him. They can't be that against normal mortals knowing about us if they're desiring of coinciding in peace. Besides, the council will see that this was my only option." Arthur noticed Mathias get this glint in his eye and crack a small smile. "Let's get going... and Mathias? Wipe that grin off your face, it's goofy."

They trotted along inside the center among everyone else. Lukas bought all their tickets and handed each of them a badge. "You brought Arthur's letter right?" Lukas asked. Vlad gave a quick thumbs up and they all stood to the side, scanning for any hint of where they should go. That's when Arthur saw her.

A tall, dark-haired girl about their age. She seemed completely normal, except that she was staring at them. When her eyes landed on him she lessened her glare and turned briskly. Something about her seemed off and Arthur immediately felt the need to chase her. He took off as fast as possible. No one else would see him running, but her... she had seen him! She moved elegantly through the crowd of people and only started running when he got so close he could reach her. Even though he heard the alarmed voices of his friend's he couldn't stop. She ran with just as much grace as she walked and avoided barreling into people easily. Arthur almost caught up as she turned a sharp left, and Arthur had to steady himself and turn that way. It was another hallway this time filled with slightly odd looking people. She was gone as if she had just up and disappeared, but all these people could see him too.

"Arthur! Why did- Oh. Guys I think...this is what we were looking for." Lukas muttered out of breath along with everyone else who had chased after him. Arthur nodded and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that fellows. Just didn't want to lose a lead, a girl who could see me. I hear people talking down the hall. Let's go as soon as you all catch your breath." Arthur said, already sasheying his way down the hallway. He ignored the looks that those in the hall gave him, vaguely mixed opinions unimportant to a man on a mission. The others caught up behind him, and everyone kept their eyes peeled out for an entrance to the meeting. They reached the end of the hallway before a hand extended out in front of him, as some apparent obstacle.

"You must be Brit's boy, yes? Yes. I see it now for sure! Would you happen to know where they are? Your parents of course, I haven't seen them in quite some time..." Arthur had barely enough time to process this man's remark, or even look at him really before he became even more confused.

"Father!?" Mathias shouted out and scrunched his face. The man turned to him and his eyes widened. "Mathias? Have you-!? Oh, no.. I see you are just here with Lukas. I knew you'd discover your magic eventually Lukas, I'm glad you are all here. It's great for children of magic to sit in on these meetings." Everyone stood there befuddled and Arthur sighed. Mathias's dad seemed trustworthy so he'd fill him in. Maybe he could help them.

"Sir... my parents are gone. They sent me a letter a while ago, and... they were attacked by the Draconis ură. I haven't heard anything since. I came here to alert the council. This is bloody unacceptable, we just joined the community and it already seems toxic." Mathias's dad sighed and scratched his head.

"That's a shame to hear Arthur, but I hope your wrong about everything you just said. Your parents are some of the most experienced magic users around. If they have been killed... then I agree you should tell the council. Come with me, I'll get you inside." Mathias asked some questions to his father quietly, with none of them being answered he gave up, although Arthur was curious as to why he wouldn't answer them. Arthur himself would like to know why Mathias seemed so confused about Arthur supposedly being with them, like he couldn't see him. Was he magical at all? His father was so that would make sense, right? Mathias's father placed his hand to one of th con door and muttered incomprehensible words. A sudden flash, blinded them all a few seconds. A glance back at the door left Arthur befuddled. The frame was there, but where the door should be there was an endless inky blackness inhabiting the space.

"Woah..." Vlad murmured. "Can you teach us how to do that?" He smiled at them and gave a thumbs up.

"You'll need to know eventually, I'm just surprised none of your parents or guardians taught you anything about this...Well let's go." And with that he stepped into the space, fading through and dissapearing. They all looked around at each other and Lukas was the first to speak.

"Are you ready Arthur? Guys? We need to stand strong in there." With everyone's slight nod, Lukas stepped in first and next Mathias followed. Vlad paused a moment and glanced to Arthur and cracked a small smile.

"Don't worry, Arthur. I think the council will treat this urgently. Besides, we have Mathias's apparently magical and cool dad on our side now." Vlad said, keeping a confident look. Arthur could always rely on Vlad to be optimistic. Then he went. With a deep breath, Arthur pushed through the darkness. He felt light like a feather as he fell through the black space that surrounded him, and the next moment heavy as before. He stook in the crowd beside his friends, and fixated his sights on the desk in the front of the room. Six seats were there, only five of which were occupied by older people. This meeting was the mountain he'd have to climb and he was a lowly unexperienced climber, only equipped with a short rope and worn boots. Was it impossible to achieve what he thought was nearly within his reach? He had to try. His parents couldn't be killed for nothing.

A/n: Oh, hi! I didn't see you there, you good? Well, I hope my fic is on your list of things that made you happy today. :3 Im glad for all of you who enjoy enough to favorite and follow to be notified. I'm glad you like it so much. And I always appreciate reading reviews that help me or let me know I'm doing good. Thanks for reading, even if it wasn't your cup o' tea, or you don't like my writing style. Every thing is appreciated! Have a lovely rest of your day, and I hope all the things happening in this chapter didn't hurt to read, hehe. ~Hetaliancupcake


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